Meteorite that smashed through a New Jersey roof reveals clues to life’s origins
A rare meteorite that crashed through a New Jersey roof contains evidence of ancient salty fluids, organic compounds, and amino acids from a primitive asteroid.
A rare meteorite that crashed through a New Jersey roof contains evidence of ancient salty fluids, organic compounds, and amino acids from a primitive asteroid.
The short version
- Its pristine chemistry could offer new clues about how space rocks helped supply early Earth with some of the ingredients needed for life.
- A meteor streaked across the New York City area in broad daylight on July 16, 2024, producing a sonic boom as it passed just south of the Statue of Liberty.
- Not long afterward, a meteorite weighing more than two pounds punched through the roof of a home in Hillsborough, New Jersey.
What happened
An international research team has now analyzed the recovered material and reported its findings in Science Advances . The object that entered Earth's atmosphere that day was roughly the size of a heavy airline bag and was traveling at 32,000 miles/h (14.4 kilometers per second).
Why it matters
Sixty people across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania reported seeing the meteor to the American Meteor Society.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at ScienceDaily — Top Science via the links above and below.